Ken Jennings, the first interim host for Jeopardy!, has apologized for a serious of controversial remarks he previously made on Twitter.
The game show champion posted a remorseful Twitter thread on Wednesday afternoon regarding the remarks.
“Hey, I just wanted to own up to the fact that over the years on Twitter, I’ve definitely tweeted some unartful and insensitive things,” he wrote. “Sometimes I said dumb things in a dumb way and I want to apologize to people who were (rightfully!) offended. It wasn’t my intention to hurt anyone, but that doesn’t matter: I screwed up, and I’m truly sorry.”
Hey, I just wanted to own up to the fact that over the years on Twitter, I’ve definitely tweeted some unartful and insensitive things. Sometimes they worked as jokes in my head and I was dismayed to see how they read on screen. 1/x
— Ken Jennings (@KenJennings) December 30, 2020
Sometimes I said dumb things in a dumb way and I want to apologize to people who were (rightfully!) offended. It wasn’t my intention to hurt anyone, but that doesn’t matter: I screwed up, and I’m truly sorry. 4/x
— Ken Jennings (@KenJennings) December 30, 2020
Jennings appears to be referring to a now-deleted tweet that he sent in 2014 that read, “Nothing sadder than a hot person in a wheelchair.” While Jennings never publicly retracted the comment, he did say he had apologized to those who were offended privately.
“I never did a public flogging thing for this but I did apologize personally to angry/hurt people who reached out personally,” he said. “It was a joke so inept that it meant something very different in my head & I regret the ableist plain reading of it!”
I never did a public flogging thing for this but I did apologize personally to angry/hurt people who reached out personally. it was a joke so inept that it meant something very different in my head & I regret the ableist plain reading of it!
— Ken Jennings (@KenJennings) April 20, 2018
Jennings also came under fire in November 2015, when he joked about a Star Wars fan suffering from terminal cancer who saw the franchise entry The Force Awakens shortly before his death.
It can’t be a good sign that every fan who has seen the new Star Wars movie died shortly thereafter.
— Ken Jennings (@KenJennings) November 10, 2015
In his contrite tweet thread, the “Greatest of All Time” player indicated that he wanted to turn the page on this sordid chapter, saying that he aims to be “kinder” in the new year.
“If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that we should be kinder to one another,” he wrote. “I look forward to heading into 2021 with that in mind.”
If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that we should be kinder to one another. I look forward to heading into 2021 with that in mind. 5/x
— Ken Jennings (@KenJennings) December 30, 2020
Jennings was announced as the interim host of for Jeopardy! after legendary host Alex Trebek died from pancreatic cancer in November. A long-term replacement for Trebek has not been named. Before Jennings’s hosting debut, starting Jan. 11, the show will air “10 of [Trebek’s] best episodes” after Christmas. Trebek’s final week of episodes will air the week of Jan. 4.
